Bedroom Confessions
by RGAP-48
Summary: -COMPLETE- Lucas and Sami get locked up in a bedroom by armed robbers. Will these circumstances cause them to admit their feelings and give in to temptation? Lucas helps Sami deal with Marlena's death.
1. Chapter One

**Bedroom Confessions**   
  
  
Chapter One   
  
  
"Hey, Sami, what's red, has blonde hair and definitely can't fly?"   
  
Lucas looked up at the sadistic smile on the tall, slender blonde's face. His eyes shot warning daggers into Nicole, which she promptly ignored. Instead, she kept her eyes trained on Sami, who was hunched over her untouched plate of salad, not even bothering to respond to the way Nicole was provoking her.   
  
"It's your mom, Sami. How could you not know the answer to that? It was too easy."   
  
"Nicole......" Lucas' eyes moved from Nicole to the exit door of the Brady Pub. His message was clear but Nicole had never been one to listen to anyone.   
  
"It's a bird. It's a plane. No, wait, it's just good old Marlena throwing herself off balconies again." Nicole chuckled at her own joke.   
  
Lucas slammed down his fork, "That is enough. Just get the hell out of here or I will not hesitate to throw you out."   
  
Nicole was taken aback by the intense display of anger she got from Lucas. She had been expecting it from Sami but not him. The look of contempt and hatred in his eyes was so strong that it evoked something in her that felt very similar to fear. He looked like he wanted to tear her apart for what she had just said. Deciding not to push him any further, she turned on her heel and hurried out of the restaurant.   
  
Lucas exhaled quietly as he watched Nicole leave, his anger slowly turning to sympathy for Sami. He couldn't even imagine everything she was feeling but he did know that the last thing she needed was people like Nicole acting like her mother's death had been nothing more than a joke. He knew that every time she was laughed at, she broke down a little bit more.   
  
Sami was leaning forward, her hair covering her face as if she was trying to shield herself from everything around her. Lucas softly brushed the hair out of her eyes, taking in the blank expression on her face. The lack of emotion caused a pang of distress but didn't surprise him. She seemed to be bottling all her emotions up inside, pushing them beneath the surface. He hadn't seen her cry over Marlena's death once.   
  
"Just forget about what she said, Sami. Nicole is sick, she just wanted to make you feel worse." Lucas murmured, watching her push the lettuce leaves around her plate with her fork.   
  
"How could she make me feel worse? I mean, everything she said was true." Sami muttered. Lucas stared at her in silence for a moment. She was scaring him with this mask of indifference she was putting up, it wasn't like her. The only emotion she ever showed anymore was guilt. And sometimes, it felt like that was worse than her not showing any emotion at all. _Sami, how do I make you see that what happened isn't your fault?_ He wondered, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. At that moment, he realized that he really hated Marlena for doing this to Sami. And to Will.   
  
It had been a week since Marlena's funeral and ten days since Marlena had been found lying beneath the balcony of her home. Since no one had heard Marlena scream and since it looked like no one had been in the apartment at the time of her death, everyone had written off Marlena's death as a suicide. Lucas barely remembered the funeral service, there was only one thing that had really stood out for him. He remembered Sami's reaction to seeing John more clearly than anything else. He thought about the way John had regarded her warily, like he was afraid she was going to lash out and accuse him of pushing Marlena off the balcony. Actually, Lucas had almost been expecting that himself. But instead of lashing out, Sami had lowered her eyes guiltily and told John she was sorry for his loss. Then she had proceeded to allow him to hug her.   
  
It was like she was giving up, like all the fight that had been in her was slowly dying. Sometimes he wanted to scream at her not to give up, not to be like Marlena. But after losing her grandmother, her father and her mother all in the course of six months, he didn't know how much more heartache she was going to be able to endure. She wouldn't even let herself grieve anymore, it was like she wouldn't let herself cry or be sad over her mother's death.   
  
"Sami, you have to eat." he chided gently, rubbing her shoulder with one hand, "I never see you eat anything anymore. By not eating you're killing yourself." he winced at the choice of words.   
  
Sami laughed humourlessly, "Sometimes, I feel like I'm already dead." she replied and he thought he saw a flicker of sadness in her eyes for a split second, "They're gone, Lucas. And I miss them."   
  
Lucas struggled to speak as a lump formed in his throat. Roman, Caroline and Marlena had never meant anywhere near as much to him as they had to Sami. But he was so close to Sami and he was hurting for her so much that the deaths had not only shattered a piece of Sami's life but a piece of his own life as well.   
  
"I miss them too." he whispered. _And I miss you_, he added silently. He extracted the fork from her hand and speared some of the salad with it. Holding the fork up to her mouth, he looked at her expectantly.   
  
"Please?" he asked, feeling relieved when she reluctantly opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her. He watched her chew slowly as he piled some more salad onto the fork. The bells on the door to the Brady Pub jingled just as Lucas brought the second bite of salad up to Sami's lips. High heels clicked smartly on the floor of the Brady Pub and in seconds, Kate was standing in front of Lucas and Sami, her face pinched with anger. Lucas' felt his heart begin beating more rapidly at the sight of his mother's irate face but he refused to take his arm off Sami's shoulder. He didn't care what his mother had to say, Sami needed him and he was going to do everything he could to be there for her, no matter what his mother said.   
  
"What is going on?" Kate demanded, her voice shrill as she scowled at Sami, "If you think for a second that I am going to let you sink your claws into my son by making him pity you, then you are sadly mistaken!"   
  
"Mom!" Lucas said reproachfully, "Sami does not need this from you right now. She's been going through a really hard time. Why don't you lay off?"   
  
"Don't give me that tone of look, young man." Kate realized what she had just said and frowned, "Tone of look? Look how upset that little trollop has gotten me now, I can't even talk properly. And I honestly don't care if she is going through a hard time or not. She can't be having that hard a time dealing with this if she is using it to her advantage to make a fool out of you. I cannot believe you are letting yourself get sucked in like this!"   
  
"Mom, how can you say that?" Phillip spoke up. He was sitting a few tables away with Shawn, Rex, Mimi and Patrick. Kate's voice had carried all the way over to their table and now all of them were watching the scene at Lucas and Sami's table intently, "Did it ever occur to you that they might actually care about each other and don't want you getting involved?"   
  
"Phillip!" Kate's nostrils flared indignantly, "If you understood the lengths Sami is going through to hurt your brother, you wouldn't be talking to me like that." she turned back to Sami, "You have no right to act like Marlena's death is hurting you that badly. Not when you can bounce back and start trying to seduce my son right away."   
  
"That's an awful thing to say." Rex jumped in, too disgusted with his biological mother to stay silent. He wasn't that fond of Sami but the way Kate was talking to her was too much, even for him, "What gives you the right to judge them? Maybe you should leave them alone and let them sort out their feelings for each other without interfering."   
  
"Stop taking Sami's side!" Kate yelped angrily, glaring at the blonde woman who sat stiffly in the booth beside Lucas, "You may have fooled everyone else but you haven't fooled me. I see right through you and I know what you're up to."   
  
Lucas stood up and shook his head, sickened by his mother's heartless words, "Are you the one that just lost your mother?" he practically shouted, causing everyone in the restaurant to look at him. Kate was too stunned by the outburst to speak, "I didn't think so. So, you don't have clue what Sami is going through. I may not either but at least I am not passing judgements on her and acting like a fucking hypocrite!" Sami stood up and touched his arm lightly.   
  
"It's okay, Lucas. She isn't worth it." Kate's jaw dropped open at the remark. Sami wasn't even going to try and pick a fight with her? What was wrong with this picture?   
  
Lucas nodded and cast another dark glance at his mother, "You're right, she isn't. Are you ready to leave?" he asked Sami politely, now completely ignoring his mother.   
  
"Where are you going?" Kate shrilled.   
  
Lucas sighed impatiently, "I'm going to go to the grocery store. Then I have to go over to the Kiriakas Mansion to see Brady."   
  
"Why do we have to see Brady?" Sami asked curiously.   
  
Lucas gave her a small smile, "I'll tell you in the car."   
  
Phillip, Rex, Mimi, Shawn and Patrick watched as Lucas and Sami left the Brady Pub without even saying good-bye to Kate. Phillip tossed another displeased stare in his mother's direction, who had slid into a booth and was looking over a menu. She was obviously angry at him for taking Lucas and Sami's side.   
  
"I can't believe my mom." Phillip said quietly, so Kate couldn't hear him, "I might not be the biggest fan of Sami Brady but no one deserves to be treated like that after their mom just died."   
  
Mimi let out a sympathetic murmur of agreement, "And I feel so bad for your brother. You can tell Lucas has feelings for Sami but your mom just keeps complicating things for them. I don't think he's going to have a chance with her unless someone does something to give them a push in the right direction."   
  
Shawn watched his cousin and Lucas get into Lucas' car, "You could be right, Mimi."   
  
Inside Lucas' car, Sami looked over at Lucas questioningly, "Why are we going to the grocery store?"   
  
"When was the last time you went grocery shopping?" Lucas inquired, watching as Sami flushed and looked away, "We're just going to get you some groceries." his voice was low and concerned, "Sami, if you keep starving yourself, you're letting people like Nicole and my mom win. You're strong and I know you can get through this. And I'm going to do everything I can to help you."   
  
Sami looked like she was going to make an objection, then closed her mouth. It seemed like she was too drained of her energy to even argue with him about anything anymore, Lucas noted. He remembered the phone call he had gotten from Brady that morning and changed the subject.   
  
"Then, we have to go to the Kiriakas Mansion because Brady was going through Victor's desk drawers looking for the will and he found the tape Victor was blackmailing you with. He called me because he said he thought I should be the one who decided what to do with it."   
  
"What are you going to do with it?" Sami asked in a small voice.   
  
"I'm going to destroy it." Lucas smiled faintly at her, "I don't want to make you miserable anymore. I just want you to be okay."   
  
Sami bit her lip and it seemed like she was struggling to contain her emotions, "Thank you. For everything." she added, her voice thick. She fell silent as she stared out the window of the car but when Lucas reached over to take her hand in his, she didn't try to pull away. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two   
  
  
After knocking on the door to the Kiriakas Mansion several times, Lucas grunted impatiently and tried turning the doorknob. Finding the door unlocked, he and Sami stepped inside. Lucas looked around for Brady and frowned when he didn't see him. In fact, Lucas didn't see or hear anything that indicated the presence of _anyone_ on the first floor. He couldn't remembered the last time he had seen the mansion look this deserted.   
  
"Oh, I forgot, Brady said that all the servants have the day off. He also said he'd be downstairs though." Lucas took a few steps into the living room, annoyed with Brady's unreliability.   
  
Sami heard muffled thumping noises above her head, "Lucas, he's probably in his room. Come on, I know where it is, Belle and I came over to see him a few days ago."   
  
Lucas and Sami made their way up the stairs, listening as the noises became louder. The hushed sounds of people talking could be heard when they reached the top of the flight of stairs. Following the noises, Lucas and Sami made their way down the hallway. They watched as a tall, hooded figure in black stepped out of one of the rooms, carrying a speaker from a stereo system. When he turned around to face Lucas and Sami, Lucas noticed that a ski mask covered his face.   
  
The man groaned, sounding irritated, "Oh, great. More people to get rid of." another man came out of the room, carrying another speaker in his arms. He was dressed similarly to the first man, other than the fact that his ski mask was red instead of black.   
  
Both men set down their speakers and started towards Lucas and Sami, "What do you think you're doing?" Lucas sounded more pissed off than scared.   
  
"Well, we were _trying_ to clean this place out before you two came along. And now we are going to have to make sure you don't get away. Because then you'd call the police and we really don't want that." the first man explained. The second man jumped out and grabbed Sami's arm, then began trying to pull her in one direction. With her free arm, Sami swung around to try and hit him but he intercepted the attempt and wrenched that arm behind her back.   
  
"Come on, lady, this way." the man ordered in a gruff voice. The first man was approaching Lucas with more than a little caution but Lucas ignored him. He pulled Sami away from the second man, then shoved the man against the wall. After a few well-placed punches, the man fell on the ground and Lucas turned his attention back to Sami. She had taken a candlestick holder off of one of the end tables and was holding it like a baseball bat, regarding the first man guardedly. Lucas tackled the first man, who let out a few angry protests.   
  
Sami started when two more men came out into the hallway. Before she even had time to react and warn Lucas, one of the men brought a large vase down on top of Lucas' head. The glass vase made an angry shattering sound when it made contact with the back of Lucas' head. Sami let out a horrified cry and started towards Lucas but when she saw the gun the fourth man had cocked in her direction, she stopped abruptly. Lucas was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor and Sami watched helplessly as he struggled to his feet. The man that had hit Lucas over the head with the vase pulled out his on gun and pointed it at Lucas.   
  
"We don't want any more of that, now do we?" the fourth man, whose ski mask was a navy blue colour, seemed to take charge. The other three men nodded in agreement. The first two men had also gotten back on their feet and the man in the red ski mask took hold of Sami by the shoulders and began steering her in one direction while the man in the black mask was pushing Lucas in the same direction as Sami. The last two men followed closely behind with their guns still pointed towards Lucas and Sami.   
  
The men reached one room and pushed Lucas and Sami inside. Shutting the door firmly behind them, one of the men called, "You can stay in there until we're finished." Sami listened to the faint clattering of something she was almost sure was keys, then listened to the retreating footsteps outside the door. She turned back to Lucas. He was already sitting down on the bed, holding the back of his head with one hand. Sami flinched as she remembered the horrible sound of the vase hitting his head and hurried over to him.   
  
"Did they hurt you?" Lucas asked hoarsely, his voice cracking painfully. Sami stared at him in disbelief. He had just been the one hit over the head with a vase and all he seemed to be thinking about was whether or not _she_ was okay.   
  
"I'm fine, it's you I'm worried about." she pulled his hand off his head and noticed that his hand was covered in blood. She swallowed hard and battled against the wave of nausea that passed through her. She didn't do well with blood. The sight of it was enough to bring back memories of so many things that had happened over the past year. Blood made her think of the way she had fallen through the glass doors at the Dimera Mansion and severed her vocal cords. Blood make her think about all the serial killings. It brought back memories of seeing Kate's wedding gown soaked in her father's blood on the night of his wedding. And blood made her think about how her mother had- no, she wasn't even going to go there.   
  
Despite the fact that even the idea of blood made her feel like throwing up, she knew she had to do something about Lucas' head injury. She quickly scanned the room for something to put on his head. They were in a guest room, one that looked like it wasn't used very often. It didn't even look like there were any light bulbs in the lights. She eyed the blankets on the bed doubtfully. They were made of an expensive-looking blue silk and she didn't really want to get them dirty, especially if she and Lucas were going to be stuck here the entire night.   
  
"I'm fine." Lucas responded, shifting his weight slightly and Sami watched as his winced, as if even that small movement had hurt.   
  
"You're not fine at all. You just took a vase to the head. Here, take off your shirt." Lucas gave her a funny look as she began tugging on his shirt, "Lucas, could you please help me out? We have to use something to stop the bleeding." Lucas understood and helped her pull the shirt off. Before putting the shirt over the injury, Sami began lifting up parts of his hair, checking to see if any shards of glass had stayed lodged in his skin. His hair was already slightly damp from the blood and Sami barely resisted cringing every time her fingers touched the thick, dark red substance. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself down. She was going to end up fainting if she didn't get a hold on her emotions and memories.   
  
After doing a thorough check on his head, Sami sighed with relief and picked up the shirt, which had been lying next to her. She was glad that none of the glass had gotten stuck because she would have died if she had to somehow get it out. She gently pressed the t-shirt against the back of his head.   
  
"Lie down." she ordered him. He slowly lowered his head onto the pillow, holding the shirt against his head securely. He looked up at Sami gratefully who was already biting her lip nervously and looking over at the door.   
  
"I'll be right back." she got off the bed and went over to the door. She tried twisting the doorknobs both ways, then sighed in frustration and kicked the door.   
  
"They locked it from the outside." Lucas informed her, "And since Victor only bought the best, the lock probably can't be broken. The windows are too small for either of us to climb out of and we are left our cell phones in the car. So, until the robbers come back, I think we're stuck in here." 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three   
  
  
Lucas watched Sami pace back and forth around the bedroom for a few minutes, then yawned and closed his eyes, "What are you doing?" Sami asked, her voice high and scared. Lucas opened one eye and took in her anxious expression.   
  
"I was going to try and sleep off this headache." he replied, noticing how horrified she looked at his response.   
  
"I don't think you should do that." she said in a small voice, coming over and kneeling down on the floor next to the bed. He stared at her in confusion.   
  
"Why not?" he asked.   
  
Sami bit her lower lip so hard it began turning white, "Because sometimes, when people go to sleep after getting a head injury that doesn't get checked out by a doctor, they don't wake up." she whispered, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears, "And sometimes when people get head injuries they d-" she cut herself off but Lucas already knew why she was so upset.   
  
He had heard different people say that Marlena might have survived the fall if she hadn't landed on her head the way she had. But she had hit her head and that had been what had killed her. The results of Marlena's fall must have been pretty bad too. The funeral had been closed-casket and there hadn't even been a wake. Lucas was glad that Sami hadn't seen Marlena's condition after Marlena had jumped off the balcony. Sami already had such a hard time with blood, it was a good thing she hadn't seen her mother with her head cracked open. John had been the one to find Marlena and it was clear that he was taking the whole thing really hard. Like Sami, he always looked so guilty but at least he was allowing himself to grieve. Then there was Sami's sister, Belle, who refused to believe Marlena had committed suicide and had run off to Milan to stay with Chloe for a while.   
  
"Sami....." Lucas' voice trailed off as Sami lowered her face and buried it in his chest. He felt the cool wetness of her tears hitting his bare skin and realized that this was the first time she had cried since she had found out her mother was dead. And even now, he didn't think she was crying over her mother.   
  
"You can't leave me." she cried, one hand reaching across his stomach to grip the blanket while her other hand clutched his arm tightly, "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost anyone else in my life. Especially you or Will, I don't think I would be able to take it."   
  
Lucas wrapped his arms around her, stroking her baby soft hair, "Sami, I'm not going to die. My head isn't in that bad condition, I think the bleeding has almost stopped and everything. I'm going to be fine."   
  
Sami continued to cling to Lucas for a few minutes, pushing her face into his chest and letting her tears slowly subside, "If it will make you feel better, I won't sleep." Lucas added. Sami pulled herself off of Lucas and lowered her eyes, looking both ashamed and embarrassed.   
  
"I'm sorry." she said shakily, "I just lost it for a minute."   
  
"Don't be sorry. It's okay to cry, I don't mind." Lucas responded. Actually, he hated seeing her cry but he knew that she probably needed to after everything she had been through the last few months.   
  
Sami pressed her back against the wall next to the bed, then hugged her knees to her chest, "This is an insanity-fest." she sniffled, "God, between this and the serial killings," Lucas thought he saw a brief look of guilt pass through her eyes for a moment, "And everything else going wrong in Salem, it's crazy. When is it going to stop?"   
  
Lucas could hear her teeth chattering and when he made out her shivering form in the dim light shining in from the windows, he could see that her face was paler than usual. Her lower lip trembled slightly and she was rocking back and forth while hugging her knees, her eyes still wet from her tears. She had to be having a delayed reaction to getting locked into this room by those armed robbers, Lucas decided. She looked like she was going into shock.   
  
"Sami?" he whispered quietly. She continued rocking back and forth and hid her face in her arms. Lucas reached his hand out and touched her shoulder. She flinched and scooted out of his reach.   
  
"Leave me alone." she mumbled, shivering as she looked out the window. It was early evening now and the full moon did hardly anything to light up the room. The whole room was now almost bathed in an unforgiving darkness. She thought about the Basic Black Fashion Show and how her aunt and uncle had been brutally attacked after the lights had went out. It had been night when she had been attacked by the Salem Serial Killer in that alley. So many bad things happened when there was no light and the fact that there were at least four criminals outside the door to the bedroom she and Lucas were in was only making her anxiety more intense.   
  
"Sami, it's just me. It's Lucas." he stretched his arm out a little bit further and caught the sleeve of her sweater with his fingers.   
  
The warm, soothing voice made her relax slightly and she smiled weakly at him, "I know." she wrapped her arms tighter around herself and continued shivering while Lucas eyed her sympathetically.   
  
"Sami, you look like your freezing. Come here." he patted the side of the bed next to him. She pulled herself up so that she was standing and walked around to the other side of the bed. She pulled off her shoes and Lucas pulled back the blankets so that she could slide underneath them. But even the blankets on her side of the bed were cold and she couldn't seem to stop shivering. Lucas also pulled the blankets overtop of himself, even though it wasn't really that cold in the room. He inched a little bit closer to Sami, slowly and carefully to make sure he didn't make himself dizzy.   
  
"Sami, are you still cold?" he asked gently, even though he already knew the answer. She nodded as another shudder wracked her body, "Do you want me to..... hold you?" he asked cautiously. He just wanted her to feel comfortable but he didn't want to push himself on her. In response to his question she moved across the bed until her back was pressed firmly against his chest. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist, feeling the soft material of her sweater hitting his bare skin. She shivered a few more times, then let out a small sigh and her breathing levelled out.   
  
"I don't know what's wrong with me." she murmured, "I'm just worried about what they're going to do when they come back." suddenly, Lucas felt her stiffen, "Lucas, Victor was killed in this house less than a month ago. What if these robbers are the ones who killed him and then realized that Nicole and Brady were here and left. What if they're planning to kill us?"   
  
Lucas felt his own heart rate speed up at the suggestion, "Sami, I'm sure they don't want to hurt us. They're just hear to rob the place, if they wanted to kill us, I think they would have done it already."   
  
"How can you say they don't want to hurt us?" Sami demanded, "They broke a glass vase over your head."   
  
"Only because they thought we were going to get away." Lucas groaned, "And we probably would have too. I had those first two guys on the ground and we would have made it out of here if it wasn't for that guy coming up behind me and breaking the vase over my head."   
  
Sami calmed down a little bit, "You really were kicking their asses for a minute there." Lucas smiled for a minute, then his smile faded. He realized that the only reason Sami was here right now was because he had brought her along. If it hadn't been for him, she would probably be at home safe right now.   
  
"I'm sorry." he didn't realize he had said the words aloud until Sami looked up at him in surprise.   
  
"For what?" she asked.   
  
"For bringing you here." he answered simply, "I'm the reason you're here tonight, I feel like I'm responsible for putting you through this."   
  
"But you're not." she responded in a low voice, "You didn't force me to come. I wanted to come because I wanted that tape as badly as you did. And you're the father of my son, I wouldn't have wanted you to have to go through something like this alone. At least we're together right now."   
  
"I know. But you really don't need to deal with this after-"   
  
"Stop it!" Sami interrupted sharply.   
  
"Stop what?"   
  
"Stop acting like I'm going to fall apart. That's how everyone treats me lately. Like I'm made of glass or crystal or something. Fragile." she said the word hatefully, as if it was the worst character trait you could ever have, "I'm not fragile. If I can handle losing so many people in my family, Nicole's twisted jokes, everyone's stares and your mom, then I can handle this. I know, I freaked out for a minute but I'm fine now. And you're just as scared as I am, you just hide it better."   
  
"I'm not scared." Lucas lied. He felt Sami take hold of his hand, which was shaking almost imperceptibly. But Sami could tell, she always saw right through him.   
  
"You don't need to pretend with me, Lucas. I'm scared too." she told him, "But it's okay to be scared. And other than being afraid, I'm fine. I really am."   
  
_I wish that were true, Sami_, Lucas thought to himself, falling silent as he rested his head on Sami's shoulder. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four   
  
  
Lucas had promised Sami he wouldn't fall asleep but now that Sami had fallen asleep, it was hard to stay awake. The sound of her soft, relaxed breathing and the way her shoulders raised slightly when she inhaled and then lowered again when she exhaled was enough to cause a feeling of absolute relaxation to sweep over his body. She looked and sounded so peaceful. He loved the feeling of completion he felt when he held her. He had never held someone and had their body align so perfectly with his own, he had never had another woman affect him like this. It was amazing, even though he and Sami were locked into a room by armed robbers, it felt like everything was fine because they were together.   
  
Still, thinking about the robbers made him feel a jolt of worry. There was always a chance that the robbers wouldn't let Lucas and Sami leave this room alive. And that did scare him because the idea of leaving so much unsaid with Sami was terrifying. He didn't want to die without telling her how he felt. He didn't want her to die feeling like no man could ever love her again now that Austin and Brandon were gone.   
  
Sami moaned, making Lucas forget all his thoughts. He felt her tremble underneath his arms and then heard her let out a little whimper, "Don't do it. You can't jump. I need you, mommy." Lucas closed his eyes, the heart broken sound of her voice almost unbearable. He couldn't take this. He began shaking her until her eyes opened and she looked up at him, her breathing now ragged.   
  
"God, what happened?" she murmured, her breathing levelling out as the minutes went by.   
  
"You were having a nightmare." Lucas told her, "I think it was about your mother. Do you remember it?"   
  
He saw realization flash through her eyes before she quickly looked away and shrugged off his hands, "No." she mumbled, her voice lacking conviction. Lucas scratched the back of his neck, looking down at Sami with concern. He knew she remembered the nightmare, he saw that in her eyes but she was still avoiding it. She was avoiding everything to do with her mother's death, it was like she thought her mother's death wasn't going to affect her if she just pretended it hadn't happened.   
  
"Sami, when you're hurting, it won't just go away if you try and ignore your feelings." Lucas said carefully.   
  
"Lucas, I don't want to talk about this." Sami responded, shifting across the bed, farther away from him.   
  
Lucas stared at her, feeling stupid and helpless because he had no idea what to say to her, "Sami, you're bottling everything up inside and that's going to hurt you worse. Just let it out. Scream, cry, hit something. You can even hit me if you want. But don't keep acting like nothing happened."   
  
Sami sat up in the bed and scowled at him, "Stop telling me what to do." even though the room was incredibly dark, he could still make out the guilt still surfacing in her light blue eyes, "I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about my mom and what she did."   
  
"Sami, please." Lucas pleaded with her, "Your feelings are there, whether or not you choose to acknowledge them. But if you keep holding back, you're just going to end up hurting yourself even more. It's okay to be sad over what happened, in fact, it's healthy to grieve."   
  
"No." Sami shook her head emphatically, "I can't let myself be sad over her. She doesn't deserve it. No one should be cry for her, not John, not Belle, no one, not after what she did."   
  
"Sami, I know she was wrong to kill herself instead of finding help. But that doesn't mean you can't mourn for her. She had to be having problems, Sami. She must have been sad."   
  
_So am I_, Sami thought bitterly, "It's more than that. She did so many things I'll never forgive her for." she shook off the hand he placed on her shoulder, "You could never understand what I am going through right now. You don't know everything she put me through."   
  
Lucas felt the helpless feeling inside of him growing at her words. She sounded so cold and unforgiving and he wished he could understand exactly why she was saying all these things. He _wanted_ to understand, he wanted to know why Sami was reacting to her mother's death the way she was. But how could do that if Sami kept pushing him away?   
  
"Sami, I want to try and understand you as much as I can. But you won't let me in. You keep pushing everyone away, especially the people who care most about you. Sami, you can talk to me. It could make you feel better if you gave it a chance."   
  
Sami turned around and glared at him but all of the hurt and confusion and concern in his eyes made her soften immediately, "I can't talk about it. It hurts too much." She thought about the night of her mother's death and tried helplessly to steel herself against the pain that shot through her.   
  
"Sami, you are one of the most important people in my life. I'd do anything to make you feel better. I wish you would talk to me and help me see where you're coming from but if you don't want to, then I won't ask again."   
  
He fell silent and closed his eyes. Sami was still sitting up and once again, she inched closer to him.   
  
"I was there that night." Sami said finally.   
  
Lucas actually felt his heart stop beating for a split second, "What?"   
  
"I was there." Sami repeated, "I was in the penthouse when she jumped."   
  
Lucas sat up and looked at her in shock. He hadn't ever known the exact place she had been when her mother had died but he had always assumed she was somewhere far away from Marlena. This revelation completely stunned him.   
  
Sami continued, her voice shaking, "I went to talk to her. The door was unlocked so I went inside. I saw this silhouette behind the curtain covering the sliding doors that led out to the balcony. So, I went out there and she was already standing over the railings."   
  
Tears were already coursing down her cheeks and Lucas regretted asking her to confide in him. This was killing her, he could tell.   
  
"I-I asked her what she was doing." Sami's voice was hoarse with tears, "Then she turned around and her face was completely blank, like she didn't even recognize me. Then she said, 'I'm the Salem Serial Killer, Sami'. She said it in a flat voice, like she wasn't even sorry. Then she explained that she didn't want to keep killing so she had to end it. All I could think when she was talking was, _'She's the one who took them away from me. She's the one who ruined my life.'_"   
  
Lucas wrapped his arms around Sami, who curled up in a fetal position in his lap, "But even then, I didn't want her to die. I begged her not to do it, I tried grabbing her and tried to pull her back over the railings. Then she grabbed my arm and she looked at me. I had never seen her look at me like that before. She looked like she completely hated me. She told me to let go of her or she would take me down with her."   
  
Lucas felt a few tears of his own tears escape his eyes but he didn't bother to wipe them away. He held onto Sami tightly, letting her cry into chest. Her words came out muffled and choked with sobs but he still managed to make out what she was saying.   
  
"I told her that she couldn't die because I needed her. I told her she was the only family I had left. I said everything I could to get her to come back over the railing. Then she gave me this look and said that she had to do this. She said it would make her happy. I kept begging her not to do it. She got angry and told me to leave her alone and let her be happy. She said I never let anyone be happy, it always about me. _'You're so God damn selfish, it's no wonder father died. And I _envy_ him, that's why I'm doing this. Because I can't deal with you anymore_." Sami repeated the words her mother had said to her, the words that had been haunting her ever since that night on the balcony.   
  
Lucas knew that if Marlena hadn't already been dead, he would definitely want to kill her. How could she call Sami selfish when she was the one who killed herself and left her daughter feeling guilty and traumatized in the process? Marlena was an insane, heartless bitch for doing this to Sami.   
  
"And right before she jumped, she told me to take care of her letter opener. She told me it was on her desk. She didn't tell me to take care of Belle or John or Will, the only thing she was thinking about was her freaking letter opener." sobs tore at Sami's throat as she continued, "Then she jumped. And I told myself I wouldn't look but I couldn't help it. God, there was so much blood."   
  
Her entire body was wracked with sobs and shudders as Lucas held her, "I killed them, Lucas. They're dead because of me. I did this to them!"   
  
"No, Sami, that's not true. You were not the reason your mom chose to do this. Please don't tell yourself that." his own tears soaked the top of Sami's head.   
  
"I just wanted them to love me." Sami cried brokenly, "Was that too much to ask?"   
  
"It shouldn't have been." Lucas murmured into her hair, "And I'm sorry. You deserved better than this."   
  
"I can't stop thinking about it." Sami confessed, "I keep thinking, maybe if I was never born, then they would still be alive. That's obviously what my mom thought. And even though she hurt me and killed my dad and grandma, I don't hate her. I can't. The only one I hate is myself. It's my fault they're dead. Maybe that means I deserve to be dead too. Maybe it would be better." Sami couldn't believe she had just confessed that to Lucas. She hadn't been planning on confessing that to anyone.   
  
"Sami, don't even think that. It's going to get better, I promise. But right now, you're just getting so overwhelmed in all the bad stuff that you're forgetting about the good things in your life. Like the people that love you and need you."   
  
"Like who?" Sami mumbled, unable to slow her tears.   
  
"Like Will. You're his mother, Sami, and he needs you so much. You have to stay strong for his sake. And I-I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. You're my only real friend, Sami."   
  
Tears began flooding down her face faster at his admission, "And you're my _only_ friend." she responded, her tears blurring her vision as she had to look up and fumble blindly for Lucas' warm, comforting lips. 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five   
  
  
Light was flooding in through the windows when Sami finally woke up the next morning. The sleep clouding her mind eventually cleared up and she realized that Lucas' arms were still wrapped around her and that her chest was flush against his back. She thought about the night before, remembering how he had held her the entire time and let her cry herself to sleep. She couldn't remember another time someone had done that for her. She rolled around to face him, propping her head up with one hand. He was lying on his side, facing her, his arms still stretched out towards her.   
  
It was at that moment she realized she loved him. She had suspected that she did for a while now but it was then that she understood how deep her feelings went for him. She thought about how much time she had spent over the past few years feeling angry, bitter and unloved. But she didn't feel like that around Lucas. He showed her that someone did care about her, he had saved her.   
  
And talking about what happened with her mother had hurt a lot. But Lucas had been right, it hurt worse to keep everything inside. And now that she knew she could confide in Lucas, it didn't hurt as much. It was still incredibly painful but she knew with time, it would get better. Especially if Lucas was going to be there for her the entire time.   
  
She heard footsteps outside the door and for a minute she thought that the robbers were coming back. Then she heard the person mumbling to themself and recognized the familiar, feminine voice. She got off the bed and went over to the door. She knocked on it loudly.   
  
"Nicole!" Sami called, "Nicole, can you let us out of here?"   
  
Nicole was silent for a moment, "Sami? What are you doing here? And who's in there with you?"   
  
"The robbers locked me and Lucas in here last night." Sami explained, "Can you get us out right now?"   
  
Nicole sighed reluctantly, "Fine. Just let me go find a spare set of keys."   
  
Sami smiled and went back over to the bed. She woke up Lucas and he sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "What's going on?"   
  
"Nicole went to get a key. She's going to let us out." Sami informed him and Lucas grinned as he heard Nicole unlocking the door. Nicole pulled the door open and leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.   
  
"And what were you doing in the house in the first place?" she demanded, crossly. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with her hair pulled into an unkempt ponytail. There were small dark circles under her eyes as well.   
  
"Brady invited us." Lucas shot back. Sami ignored Nicole and touched Lucas' arm.   
  
"Is your head okay?" Sami asked him and he nodded in response.   
  
"What happened to his head?" Nicole asked, still looking irritated.   
  
"The robbers broke a vase over his head." Sami told her.   
  
Nicole noticed the stained shirt behind Lucas and stopped looking so annoyed. For a split second, Sami thought she saw a flicker of concern in Nicole's eyes but then quickly decided she had imagined it.   
  
"Oh." Nicole stared at the floor for a minute, "Hang on, I'll go get you a shirt from Brady's room." she mumbled, quickly leaving the room. She came back a few minutes later, carrying a dark blue shirt. As Lucas pulled it on, Nicole cleared her throat loudly.   
  
"All right, you can leave. Like, right now. Go get his head checked out at the hospital or something." Nicole tapped her foot impatiently.   
  
Lucas smirked at her, "I didn't know you cared, Nicole."   
  
Nicole looked offended, "I don't. I just want you to get out of my house. What do you take me for?"   
  
"I refuse to answer that without a lawyer present." Lucas retorted, beginning to make his way over to the door. Sami and Nicole followed him down the hallway. The three of them were making their way down the stairs when they heard a high-pitched shriek.   
  
"All right, Brady Black, why don't you just _ram_ your head a little bit further up your ass!" Belle screeched loudly, to Sami's surprise.   
  
"I thought Belle was going to be staying in Milan with Chloe for a couple more weeks." Sami turned to Nicole, confused, "Is she back already?"   
  
Nicole shrugged, hiding a smile, "I guess she had a not-so-fabulous time with Chloe. According to Belle, being a famous opera star has really gone to Chloe's head and she is now an incredibly big bitch. And according to Belle, she was cheating on Brady so I think he just called her and dumped her."   
  
"And I'm sure this brings on feelings of unbearable sadness for you." Lucas remarked sarcastically.   
  
"Oh, yes, my heart bleeds for this awful separation." Nicole struck back, just as sarcastic.   
  
Nicole, Lucas and Sami reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Brady and Belle standing near the front door. Belle turned and noticed her sister, then frowned in confusion.   
  
"Sami, what are you doing here? Oh, hey, Lucas. Were you here spending the night with Nicole?" Belle asked.   
  
Lucas looked harshly grossed out, "That is one of the most disgusting suggestions I have heard in a long time. It was all Brady's fault. He invited me over and then I got hit over the head with a vase and locked in a bedroom with Sami."   
  
"I wish I could get locked in a bedroom with Shawn." Belle sighed dreamily, "Then he'd have to have sex with me."   
  
"Lucas and I did not have sex." Sami glared at her sister, "And we have to leave right now because Lucas needs to go to the hospital and get his head examined."   
  
Nicole burst out laughing, "I knew that all along."   
  
Lucas took a step towards her and she squealed and backed away, "Don't! I had to sleep standing up in a pantry with Brady. It was squishy and uncomfortable and I'm too tired and sore to deal with you."   
  
"They locked you in a pantry?" Lucas looked amused by this, "I guess the bedroom wasn't so bad after all. Although, I'm never going to want to eat here again after knowing you and Brady were locked into that pantry for the entire night."   
  
"Well, as much as I'd love to stay here and tell you stories about me and Brady's steamy pantry sex, I just remembered I have to go somewhere." Nicole replied, pushing past Brady. She didn't bother closing the door behind her and she could make out what Belle was saying.   
  
"Ew, you didn't really do it in a pantry with her, did you?" Belle sounded disgusted, "I'm so sorry, Brady."   
  
  
After Nicole had knocked on the door to Rex and Shawn's apartment a few times, Mimi answered the door. She gave Nicole a little smile, then led her into the living room. Phillip, Patrick, Rex and Shawn were already there. When Phillip saw Nicole, his eyes glittered furiously.   
  
"Who invited her?" he demanded, glowering at Nicole.   
  
"Rex and I invited her." Mimi said defensively, her chin jutting out stubbornly, "Since we're doing this to cheer up both Sami and Brady, I thought she should be involved, since she's so close to Brady. Besides, you let me invite Patrick and he barely knows Brady and Sami. Why should Nicole be any different?"   
  
"Patrick is here to amuse us." Phillip countered, then squinted at Mimi's brother, "You don't look like you were born a woman."   
  
"I wasn't. Why would you think that?" Patrick questioned in an insulted tone.   
  
"Do you really eat drywall?" Rex asked, holding back laughter at the expression on Patrick's face.   
  
It finally sunk in what was going on and Patrick glared at his younger sister, "Mimi!"   
  
"You'll probably want to cheer Belle up too." Nicole cut in, "She got back from Milan and supposedly Chloe was being awful to her. Although, she didn't seem anywhere near as depressed as Sami or Brady are. I think that's because she's still in denial about Marlena killing herself."   
  
"Belle's back?" Shawn's eyes lit up, "Great, then we will definitely cheer her up too." suddenly his eyes narrowed as he drew his attention back to Nicole, "But while we are doing this, you need to realize that we are also trying to help get Lucas and Sami together. So, you better be nice to Sami. No more sick jokes like that one you made at the pub yesterday."   
  
"I can do that." Nicole said breezily. _Sure, I'll be nice to Sami_, Nicole thought wickedly to herself, _But Lucas is still fair game_, "Oh, and Lucas kind of got his head smashed in, so we should wait until he gets back from the hospital to put this plan into action."   
  
"He got his head smashed in?" Mimi shrilled, "Is he okay?"   
  
"Okay, so I exaggerated a little bit. He didn't really get his head smashed in. He's fine." Nicole assured her, "He and Sami are probably just going to go get it looked at by a doctor and after that, they'll go home and you guys can go get them. I'll take care of Brady."   
  
"All right." Mimi looked relieved, "Then I guess we should get everything ready." 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six   
  
  
**Author's Note: When I started writing this fic, I had no idea they were going to make Marlena fall off the balcony on the show. It was just a very strange coincidence. Someone else thought I had based my story on spoilers, so I thought I would just make it clear that I didn't know Marlena was going to fall off the balcony until about a week ago. Sorry for making this chapter so long, I'll try and keep the rest of the chapters shorter.**   
  
  
Jan squirmed around uncomfortably underneath the seat of the van. Once she had found out Shawn and Nicole were going to be leaving Salem for a night, she had snuck underneath the back seat in the van so that she could follow Shawn. She really loved Shawn. She would follow him anywhere. She was a little annoyed with Nicole though, Nicole was her best friend, Nicole should have invited her to come on the trip. If Nicole had invited her, she wouldn't be squished against the floor of the van and squished by a bunch of overnight bags.   
  
Not to mention that Lucas had been swinging his legs back and forth and kicking her in the face for the first half an hour of the trip. That kind of hurt. But if Lucas hadn't been kicking her and if he hadn't been making fun of her and Nicole earlier, she might have liked him. He had nice feet, almost as nice as Shawn's. Jan had a serious foot fetish.   
  
  
Shawn had only been driving for about an hour and everyone except Mimi and Nicole were already asleep. But Nicole had a feeling that Brady, Lucas and Sami probably hadn't slept very well last night, so it made sense that they were sleeping. She hadn't slept well either but she didn't feel like sleeping. She was sitting in the second row of the van, in between Brady and Mimi. She smiled when Brady rolled his head over to the other side so it was resting on her shoulder. She noticed Mimi watching her and patted Brady on the head.   
  
"Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Nicole asked.   
  
"Not as cute as my Rexipoo." Mimi responded, eyeing the back of Rex's head. He, Phillip and Patrick were sitting in the first row of the van while Belle sat in the passenger seat and Shawn drove. Phillip had rented one of those big vans with three rows of seats and after Lucas had fought with Nicole for an extensive amount of time, he and Sami had ended up getting to go in the back seat. This had annoyed Nicole greatly, since she had wanted to go in the back seat with Brady.   
  
"Lucas, however, is not cute at all." Nicole added, using one hand to try and push Lucas' feet off of the seat. Before Lucas had went to sleep, he had propped his feet up on the back of her seat, right behind her head and Nicole could not get him to budge, "As a matter of fact, he is an infuriating bastard."   
  
Mimi rolled her eyes, "I'm glad at least one of you is asleep. If we had to listen to you two go at each other's throats the entire time, we would have all gone crazy." before Lucas had ended up falling asleep, he had picked a fight with Nicole when Mimi had casually said something about seeing Jan in town. Lucas had then mentioned seeing Jan and Nicole together and had made some insinuations about the Jan and Nicole being a little more than friends.   
  
Nicole scowled, "It was his fault. He's the one who accused me of having romantic feelings for Jan, which is the farthest thing from the truth."   
  
"Right. Then you went and said he had been drooling over Patrick for the entire trip." Mimi retorted, "That was really mature, wasn't it?"   
  
"Yeah, well you're the one who spent a good five minutes trying to convince us all that your brother was really a transexual before he managed to stop you." Nicole reminded her.   
  
Mimi looked offended, "Hey, we're siblings and we haven't seen each other in a long time. We have a lot of catching up to do."   
  
Lucas suddenly bumped Nicole in the head with his feet and Nicole sighed petulantly. She couldn't turn all the way around because she was enjoying the fact that Brady's head was on her shoulder so she had to settle for scooting as far away from Lucas' feet as possible.   
  
Mimi whirled around and her eyes lit up triumphantly when she saw Lucas and Sami. They were both sleeping, Lucas had his legs on the back of Nicole's seat and Sami's legs were tucked underneath her body, her head resting on Lucas' chest. His arm was wrapped securely around her and their fingers were laced together. They already looked like they were in love. It looked like Kate hadn't been that successful in her attempt to stop Lucas and Sami from falling for each other.   
  
"Hey, Shawn, can I drive the hobo-van now?" Nicole called up to Shawn, who eyed her in the review mirror and shook his head. Nicole huffed loudly and turned to Mimi.   
  
"Do you want to play the license plate game or something? I'm incredibly bored." Nicole stated.   
  
Mimi frowned, "I hate that game. It's boring." suddenly, she grinned, "But I have an idea. We should start telling a story."   
  
"A story?" Nicole didn't look too interested.   
  
"Yeah, when Patrick and I were kids, we would always make up stories when we were going on really long drives. You tell a few sentences of the story and then I add to it. Come on, it's not like we have anything better to do." Mimi urged her.   
  
Lucas kicked Nicole in the head again, "Fine. I'll start the story." Nicole said, "Once upon a time, there was a llama. His name was Lucas. Lucas had a very long neck. The other llamas shunned him. He was upset, so he befriended a sheep named Sami."   
  
Mimi looked behind her, "His neck isn't that long." she observed, "And as far as I can tell, her bears no resemblance to a llama what-so-ever."   
  
Nicole exhaled impatiently, "Look, I know the whole point of this was to kidnap Lucas, Sami, Belle and Brady, take them on a vacation and go out of our way to amuse them. But all of them are asleep so there is no reason we can't amuse ourselves. And I want to make Lucas a llama in my story."   
  
"Okay, then." Mimi began adding to the story, "Sami the sheep didn't like Lucas and she had very sharp teeth. So, she bit him around his..." Mimi considered her options and then decided to keep the story G-rated for the time being, "Ear. Then, Lucas the llama got the farmer, Nicole, to shave Sami. Sami was cold so Lucas kept her warm using his..."   
  
"Mouth." Nicole finished for her, "Sami and Lucas plotted against the farmer to get her fur back. But Lucas secretly didn't want Sami to get her fur back, he was just having fun. And why the hell am I in this story? Oh well, at least I'm not a farm animal."   
  
Mimi was really enjoying telling this story now, "So, Lucas used his long neck to attack Nicole, ran off with the fur and burned it. Sami found out and almost killed Lucas."   
  
"But Lucas confessed his undying love for Sami. So, Sami agreed to marry him and they had wild monkey... dinner every night." Nicole dead-panned, finding it very hard to keep a straight face.   
  
Mimi looked a little grossed out, "Wow, a sheep and a llama getting married and having wild monkey dinner. If that's not creepy, I don't know what is." suddenly, she smiled evilly at Nicole, "But Nicole seduced Lucas into having... dinner with her. She made him... spaghetti, even though most normal llamas don't like spaghetti. Then, using an incredibly complicated technique she had learned at hooker-farmer camp, Nicole tricked Lucas into choking on her... meatball." Mimi couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.   
  
"All right, I'm never eating spaghetti ever again." Nicole commented, "So, Lucas died and the meatball was still caught in his incredibly long neck. Sami was hungry and she ran into Lucas and realized he was dead and that there was a meatball in his throat. But she was hungry so she performed the Heimlich Maneuver to get it out and eat it."   
  
"Then Sami also choked on the meatball and died. When she died, she fell over and hit a fork. The fork flew up in the air and ended up stabbing Nicole in the heart. Nicole died slowly and painfully. The end." Mimi finished proudly.   
  
Shawn finally spoke, "You two are in need of serious help."   
  
"I agree." Patrick spoke up. Mimi frowned at her brother.   
  
"You were awake?" she asked in surprise.   
  
"Yup." Patrick smirked at her, "And it's time for me to make a story. Once upon a time, Lucas and Mimi decided to have dinner in a dumpster. They were having a lot of fun. But a rabid rat named Bonnie lived in the dumpster. She didn't like the fact that Lucas and Mimi were having dinner in her dumpster. She bit them and they both died of rabies. The end."   
  
Mimi looked exasperated, "Can you tell he doesn't like my mom very much? And I think he's still a little upset with me for saying he was a transexual."   
  
"What I don't understand is, why am I always added into these twisted stories?" Mimi flushed and spun around to look at Lucas.   
  
"How much of that did you hear?" she asked.   
  
Lucas shook his head, "I heard the whole llama story and I also heard Patrick's story. I mean, there's no way I'm going to be able to sleep when you and Nicole won't shut up."   
  
Mimi couldn't believe Lucas had heard the entire story she and Nicole had made. Sinking low in her seat with embarrassment, she promptly decided it was time to take a nap.   
  
  
After everyone had left their bags at their cabins, they decided to take a walk down to the lake. Phillip had been unloading the van and had found Jan hiding under the seat. She had immediately jumped out of the van and tried to attack Lucas for making fun of her. They had run away from Jan.   
  
Shawn was the first one to step onto the dock, "Look, ducks!" he said excitedly, "This is so cool, we should go swimming."   
  
"We should go get changed first then." Rex reasoned, wondering when Shawn had started getting so worked up over seeing ducks.   
  
"But that's going to take so loooonng." part of the dock was wet and Shawn was too busy eyeing the ducks to watch where he was going. He slipped on the dock and his arms spiraled around dramatically. Before falling into the water, he grabbed the arm of the person closest to him, who happened to be Sami, and pulled her into the lake with him.   
  
It was only early spring, so the water was still pretty cold. Sami sputtered in outrage, "Shawn, you asshole!" she tried splashing him but he dog-paddled out of her reach. He then noticed that the water was only up to his waist. His eyes lit up when he saw the pair of ducks that had caught his attention earlier.   
  
"Ducks!" he shouted gleefully.   
  
Standing on the dock, Nicole shouted to him, "You're going to scare the ducks away."   
  
"Are you kidding? Ducks love me. I am one with the ducks." Shawn swam closer to the birds, which swam away from him.   
  
"That's a little scary." Mimi mumbled, "Are you worried yet, Belle?"   
  
Once Shawn reached the ducks, they squawked loudly and flew away. Shawn swam back over towards Sami, looking extrememly disappointed. He noticed Lucas holding his hand out he could help Sami out of the lake and quickly hurried over to the two of them.   
  
"Lucas, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded, "That's my playmate you're trying to steal."   
  
Phillip groaned, "She can't be your playmate. She's your cousin. That's wrong. Horribly wrong."   
  
Before Lucas could pull Sami back onto the dock, Shawn caught him by surprise and pulled him into the lake along with himself and Sami. Once Phillip saw the look on his brother's face when he came out of the water, he burst out laughing.   
  
Lucas gave Phillip a dirty look, "If we weren't related, I think I would really despise you."   
  
Shawn jumped out of the water and back onto the dock, "Belle, I think it's your turn." he lunged at his girlfriend, who squealed and ran off the dock. Brady turned to Nicole, Phillip, Patrick, Mimi and Rex.   
  
"I guess we should go find our bathing suits before we get pushed into the lake with all our clothes on."   
  
"Hey, Mimi, have you ever went skinny-dipping?" Rex asked her.   
  
Mimi blushed, "Only in my bathtub." she replied. The remaining six people left the dock, leaving Lucas and Sami alone in the lake.   
  
Both of them paddled back up to the dock. Sami wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, "That water is so cold. They must be out of their minds to want to swim in it."   
  
Lucas wrapped both arms around her, "It's not that cold once you get used to it." he countered. He brushed back the wet hair that had plastered itself to her face. Her clothes clung to her skin, outlining every curve of her body. He swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off her.   
  
"What are you staring at?" she asked him, confused.   
  
"You. I can't stop thinking about how unbelievably beautiful you are." Lucas said honestly, even though he thought the words sounded incredibly corny. But Sami didn't look like she cared. Her entire face lit up in such a way that Lucas couldn't stop himself from leaning down and kissing her. He cradled her face tendly in his hands, tasting her for a few seconds before pulling away. Looking into her eyes, he could see affection, warmth, along with a mild sadness that tugged insistently on his heart.   
  
"Why do you want to be with me?" she asked, her eyes burning into his questioningly.   
  
"What?" Lucas was stunned by the sudden question.   
  
Sami sighed, "I'm sorry. I just feel like I don't deserve you. I mean, I've always compared myself to my sisters and... my mom. They were always so beautiful and they always seemed to do everything right. I never felt like I would ever measure up to any of them, not Belle, not Carrie and not my mom. I always felt like I was the one left behind. Why would you want to be with someone like that?"   
  
Lucas kissed her again, his lips lingering on hers a little bit longer this time, "You're perfectly everything, Sami. More than Belle, Carrie and Marlena will never be."   
  
Sami shook her head, "But that's just it. I'm not and I know that. Why would you want you want to be with someone so flawed when you could easily find someone better?"   
  
Lucas stroked the side of her face with his thumb, "All right, no one is perfect. I'm definitely not perfect. But when we're together... that's perfection. Love makes us perfect."   
  
"Love?" Sami croaked, looking shocked at his words.   
  
Lucas took a deep breath, "That's right. Sami, I love you."   
  
He felt his heart sink when she stood up and started walking away. She slipped on the dock and he quickly took hold of her to keep her from ending up back in the water.   
  
"Be careful, you're going to fall." Lucas said, trying to ignore the awful sense of rejection in the pit of his stomach. Then she looked at him and he noticed the shimmering tracks of tears sliding down her face.   
  
"I think I already have fallen." she whispered as softly as possible.   
  
Lucas frowned in confusion, "Did you hurt yourself?" he asked.   
  
Sami was laughing and crying at the same time now, "Not like that. Great way to spoil the mood, Lucas."   
  
Lucas realized what she meant and smiled, "You were the one who tried to run away from me."   
  
She leaned against him, pressing her forehead to his, "I meant that I think that I've already fallen in love with you."   
  
Lucas whispered her name with a quiet intensity before drawing her into his arms again. For a moment, she was scared because she knew that she had fallen so deeply in love with him that she would probably never be able to find her way back to the surface. But when he deepened the kiss, tangling his hands in her wet hair and allowing their tongues to blend together in a dance of passion, she realized that she didn't care. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven  
  
  
Lucas and Sami realized just how dysfunctional the Lockhart family was when Mimi came into their bedroom and announced she was going to sleep on the floor. Patrick had been telling Mimi stories, which had scared her immensely. So, Mimi was sleeping on the floor in the room that Lucas and Sami were staying in. But she wasn't sleeping. Mimi was now afraid of the dark. Patrick's stories about the people-eating, blood-sucking monsters did it every time. Not to mention the fact that Lucas was snoring. How _did_ Sami deal with that? Lucas' snoring was really starting to annoy her, it also reminded her of the noises she had a feeling the people-eating, blood-sucking monsters would make.   
  
Deciding that she couldn't take it anymore, she covered Lucas' face with his blanket. It was a matter of minutes before he shoved the blanket off, "Not now, Sami, I'm too tired." he mumbled groggily   
  
"Sick!" Mimi _was_ glad that Lucas and Sami were at a high point in their relationship but she didn't want to think about it too much. That was wrong. She covered Lucas' face with a blanket again and this time, he woke up. Sitting up, he turned and tried to plant his feet on the ground. Mimi squealed indignantly and pushed his feet away.   
  
"No stepping on my face!" Mimi yelped. Lucas recoiled and looked down at Mimi.   
  
"You're still here?"   
  
Mimi sniffed, "Yes. It's not my fault my brother is a sadistic ass. I hope the people-eating, blood-sucking monsters get him." Lucas tried to get out of the bed, "What are you doing? Did I give you permission to take bathroom breaks?"   
  
Lucas was getting annoyed now, "When did I start seeking your permission to do things?"   
  
"Since now." Mimi shot back, "You have to stay here. You have to protect me and Sami. What if the monsters come and get us while you're going to the bathroom? What if the monster eats me and your girlfriend? You'd never be able to get over the guilt!"   
  
Lucas began speaking to Mimi in a tone he would have used on a three year old, "Mimi," he started, in a patient, condescending tone, "There are no monsters. You are not going to die if I go to the bathroom. Sami will protect you."   
  
"My ass, I will." Sami broke in irritably, sitting up in her bed, "I'm not going to do either of you any favours after you so rudely woke me up."   
  
"I don't know how you got to sleep in the first place." Mimi responded, "Lucas' snoring is so annoying. That's why I tried to make him be quiet with the blanket. Then he started saying stuff about you in his sleep and it was wrong."   
  
Lucas suddenly growled, causing Mimi to shrink back and shield herself with a blanket, "Don't do that, it's creepy. You're one of them, aren't you? You're a people eating, blood-sucking monster!"   
  
Lucas had grown very tired of Mimi's childish antics, "Get out! You are not five, you can sleep in your own bed!"   
  
Mimi sighed reluctantly and got to her feet. She walked out of the bedroom, her blanket trailing behind her. As soon as she was out of the room, a hand grabbed her arm, causing her to shriek loudly and throw her blanket into the air.   
  
"Patrick, you jerk!" she screeched. Sami rolled her eyes and turned to Lucas.   
  
"Why couldn't we have gotten the _quiet_ cabin?" she wondered.   
  
  
Over at the cabin next to Lucas and Sami's, it turned out that Mimi and Patrick were not the only ones battling serious cases of insomnia. The group had rented two cabins and Rex, Mimi, Patrick, Lucas and Sami were supposed be staying in the first cabin, while everyone else stayed in the second cabin. But Rex had gotten into a fight with Mimi earlier that night, so Rex was staying in the same cabin as Belle, Shawn, Phillip, Brady and Nicole. Actually, no one except Belle had insomnia. But the way Belle was trying to cure her insomnia was keeping everyone awake.   
  
"You're toxic, I'm slipping under!" she sang loudly, oblivious to the disgusted groans coming from the bedroom she had been sharing with Shawn. Belle was now in the living room, leaving Shawn, Rex and Phillip in her bedroom, trying to block out the sound of her high-pitched singing.   
  
"You're girlfriend has awful taste in music, man." Phillip commented, "Is there any way to get away from her all-night Britney Spears karioke party?"   
  
Rex grimaced, "How can it be a party when she's the only one in there? Damn, I wish I wasn't fighting with Meems. If I was with her, I'd be sleeping right now."   
  
"Or not." Shawn mumbled, then began singing, "Rex and Mimi sitting in a tree, F-U-C-K-I-N-G."   
  
"It's bad enough we have to listen Belle sing. Please don't decide to join her and stop singing right now." Rex gave Shawn a dirty look. Phillip saw that Shawn's song had annoyed Rex greatly, so he joined in.   
  
"First comes Rex-"   
  
Rex punched Phillip in the arm, "Hey, that's bullshit. I do not ejaculate prematurely!"   
  
Shawn snickered, "Look what we've done to this innocent grade school song."   
  
Phillip listened as Belle began singing 'Oops, I Did It Again', "I can't take it anymore. I'm leaving." he opened the door to Shawn and Belle's room just in time to see Brady and Nicole coming out of their room.   
  
"Where are you going?" Phillip asked.   
  
"We're going to get away from Belle's singing." Nicole whispered, "We're going skinny-dipping."   
  
Phillip was silent for a moment, then spoke again, "I'm coming too." he whispered and he, Brady and Nicole began creeping towards the front door of the cabin.   
  
"I never liked Britney Spears." Shawn heard Nicole say, "My favourite band was always Swollen Members." Shawn saw her smile insinuatingly at Brady.   
  
"Whore." Brady snorted, "Is that even a band?"   
  
"Yes." Nicole sounded offended, "They're a great band too. Mad Child is damn sexy." the three of them left the cabin and Shawn turned back to Rex.   
  
"Well, since Belle is in the mood to sing Britney Spears songs, maybe she'll also be in the mood to give me a lap dance." Shawn said, "See you later."   
  
Rex groaned again and went back into the room he was sharing with Phillip. He flung himself down onto his bed and hoped that Belle would be finished singing soon. Because he didn't know how much more Britney he would be able to take.   
  
  
Mimi slapped Patrick hard on the back of the head, "You make me sick!" she informed him crossly.   
  
"I know." Patrick gave her a lopsided smile, "And you make me laugh. I can't believe the blood-sucking, people-eating monsters still scare you." he thought back to the first time he had told the story, when Mimi had been eight. They had been telling horror stories during a power failure. Then Patrick had grabbed Mimi's flashlight, turned the flashlight off and bit her arm. He had never heard her scream so loud. She had actually thought the people-eating monsters had gotten her.   
  
"If I wasn't so angry and scared shitless, I would actually be able to think of a comeback for that." Mimi retorted hotly. She turned her back to her brother, "Now, if you excuse me, Lucas has kicked me out of his room so I'm going into the living room."   
  
"Hey, if you're not going to sleep in your bed, can I have it?" Patrick asked, "Because, you know, there's this mosquito in my room and it's pissing me off and I can't sleep. It already bit my mouth and now my mouth itchy."   
  
Mimi smirked, "I hope you get rabies from the mosquito."   
  
"Mosquitos don't carry rabies, do they?" Patrick thought about it for a minute. Mimi began walking away from her brother without answering his question. Patrick took this as a yes, so he went into Mimi's bedroom and burrowed underneath the blankets.   
  
Mimi went into the living room and noticed a video-tape lying next to the television set, "Hey, someone left a movie here." she read the label on the video-tape, "Pi? This sounds boring but that could be a good thing. It could bore me to sleep." the tape was already over halfway through but Mimi was too lazy to rewind it, so she just pressed the play button after inserting the tape into the VCR.   
  
She sat down on the couch and reached for her purse, which had been sitting next to the couch. She found a jolly-rancher and began sucking on it. Mimi loved jolly-ranchers. She frowned when she realized the movie was black and white. She then watched as a psychotic-looking bald man stood over a sink, looking at himself in the mirror. Suddenly, a loud screeching sound caused the man to keel over in pain. Mimi watched, feeling more and more brains cells dying as she watched the man hold his head in his hands. _Rex used to get headaches like that_, Mimi mused, _I wonder if he heard screeching too. Wow, this movie is dumb. It kind of reminds me of The Ring. That's a little scary._ The Ring had scared Mimi a lot, she had never looked at little dark-haired girls the same again.   
  
Suddenly, the man picked up a drill, "Oh, come on, don't." Mimi almost choked on her jolly-rancher as he held the drill against his head. Suddenly, the psychotic man began narrating.   
  
"One time, when I was five, my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So, one time, when I was seven, I did." _That's wonderful_, Mimi thought to herself, _Did that comment have any relevance to the movie at all?_ Suddenly, he pushed the drill into his head, splattering blood onto the mirror. This movie was reminding her more and more of The Ring with each passing minute. The scene cut to the man standing next to a fence and Mimi snorted. _Don't even try to tell me he survived pushing a drill through his head._ Mimi was disgusted with the movie, so she got off the couch and turned it off. It had only been about five seconds after she had pressed the stop button when her cell phone started ringing. Mimi stared at the phone in horror. No one would be calling her this late at night. She knew the movie had been too much like The Ring.   
  
Screaming, she ran into Lucas and Sami's bedroom and jumped onto the bed, knocking Lucas off the bed and waking both Lucas and Sami up again in the process.   
  
  
Rex covered his head with his pillow, "Make her stop." he moaned loudly. He listened as she began singing 'I'm A Slave For You', "Kill me noooooooowwwww..." he sang in a melancholy voice.   
  
"Gladly." Shawn replied, walking into the room. Rex sat up, "Yeah, I came back here to see what you were doing. Belle wouldn't do a lap dance or a strip-tease for me. Life isn't fair."   
  
Rex shook his head sadly, "I wish I hadn't gotten into a fight with Mimi. It was so stupid and I wish I was in her cabin instead of this one. Then I could get some sleep."   
  
"Why are you fighting anyway?" Shawn asked.   
  
Rex flushed, "She and Belle were comparing you, Phillip, Patrick and Lucas' chests when we were swimming. I overheard and I felt left out so I said that I had a six-pack. Then Mimi said, 'Yeah, in your fridge back at the loft'. After that, I accused Mimi of flirting with Phillip and then she got mad."   
  
"That's all?" Shawn looked amazed, "That is really dumb. Go talk to her. I'm sure she'll forgive you."   
  
"I think she's awake." Rex remarked, "I saw some lights on over at her cabin and I tried calling her cell but she didn't pick up."   
  
Shawn patted Rex on the back, "Go talk to her, Rex. Anything is better than listening to the Britney wanna-be in there."   
  
  
"Mimi, I told you to go away! Do you realize it is around two in the morning?" Lucas demanded grumpily. Mimi shuddered, not being able to think of a time the sound of a phone ringing had ever sounded so terrifying.   
  
"I'm going to die." she whispered dramatically, "In seven days! I have seven days to live. Then, the little girl is going to come out of her well and attack me!"   
  
Sami whimpered underneath the blankets, "You're not making any sense and I'm tired."   
  
"I was watching this movie. And it was called Pi and it was so pointlessly scary, it reminded me of that video-tape from The Ring. Then my phone rang after I turned the movie off." Mimi choked back a sob, "It's really true, Pi is the new killer video-tape. I'm going to die in a week, without even getting the chance to make up with my Rexipoo."   
  
  
Rex climbed through Mimi's bedroom window. Immediately, he saw his girlfriend buried underneath the blankets. He went over to the bed, sat down and placed one hand on top of the bump underneath the covers.   
  
"Hey, Meems. Did you want to kiss and make up now?" he asked in a soft voice. The covers were pushed away, revealing to Rex not the beautiful woman he had been expecting, but her brother instead.   
  
"_For the love of God_!" Patrick yelled, startling Rex so much that Rex ended up falling off the bed.   
  
"Do you sleep with your sister like this all the time?" Rex inquired after the shock had worn off, "That's my girlfriend you're sharing a bed with, you perv."   
  
"I'm a perv?" Patrick raised his eyebrows, "You're the one who climbed in through the window to 'talk' to my sister. Wait a second! You unvirginized my sister, didn't you?"   
  
Rex laughed nervously, "Unvirginized? Is that even a word?"   
  
"Answer the question." Patrick said through clenched teeth.   
  
"You mean you didn't know? I thought everyone knew that I had." that was obviously the wrong answer. Patrick's jaw dropped and his eyes darkened angrily. He shoved Rex onto the bed and began trying to smother Rex's face with his pillow.   
  
Mimi heard the shouting from inside Lucas and Sami's room. She might have been mad at her brother but that didn't mean she really wanted him to get eaten by the people-eating, blood-sucking monsters. She bravely left Lucas and Sami's room to go see what was going on. She went into the bedroom, to find Patrick straddling someone, whose face was covered by a pillow. But after surveying the scene more carefully, she realized who was under the pillow.   
  
"Rex!" she yelped in surprise, "Look, I know we had a little fight but this is going too far! And what the hell? You never let me be on top!" she stormed out of the bedroom and back into Lucas and Sami's room.   
  
"Now you have to let me stay here." Mimi told them, "I need comfort! I just caught by boyfriend in bed with my brother."   
  
Lucas scowled at Mimi and got out of his bed. Not speaking, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Mimi watched in confusion, "What? You don't believe me? Go see for yourself, Lucas. It's true."   
  
"I don't want to see. Do you want to go for a walk, Sami?" Lucas turned his attention to Sami, who was still hiding underneath the blankets. Sami pushed the blankets off and pulled herself out of the bed. Her hair was in a tangled mess on top of her head from diving under the blankets. She shot Mimi a quick dirty look.   
  
"That would be wonderful, anything to get away from her." Sami couldn't believe that this was the second night in a row she would not be able to get a decent night's sleep.   
  
Rex came barging into Lucas and Sami's room with Patrick right behind him, "Mimi it wasn't like that." Rex began, "It was Patrick, he was trying to kill me. He freaked out because I climbed through your window so I could see you. I just wanted to tell you that I was sick of fighting.   
  
"Suuuurreee." Sami said, rolling her eyes. Rex pointed at Sami and began laughing hysterically.   
  
"I think you're got some kind of an animal on your head." Rex told her, "Can I kill it?"   
  
Sami tried furiously to make her hair look somewhat presentable, "Oh, go rot in hell with your girlfriend." Mimi was just standing there, looking at Rex with a love-struck look on her face.   
  
"You climbed through my window at two-thirty in the morning just to apologize to me?" Mimi swooned, "That is so adorable, Rex. Of course, I forgive you. Now, maybe I can go to sleep since you can protect me from the people-eating, blood-sucking monsters."   
  
Lucas and Sami left Rex, Mimi and Patrick in the cabin and stepped outside. Sami noticed the lights on in the front room of Belle, Shawn, Phillip, Brady and Nicole's cabin, "It looks like no one is sleeping tonight." she remarked.   
  
As Lucas and Sami neared the dock of the lake, they heard shrieks of laughter coming from the water, "Brady, no! I'm ticklish, stop it. Don't tickle me there, that's my special spot!"   
  
Phillip sounded very grossed out when he replied, "Ew, don't tickle her anywhere when I'm around."   
  
"You were the one who decided to come with us." Brady shot back.   
  
"Only because I wanted to get away from Belle's singing." Lucas frowned and turned to Sami.   
  
"I guess we should stay away from the lake. I don't want to see Brady touching Nicole in her 'special spots' either." Sami giggled and she and Lucas continued walking away from the lake. Lucas noticed how quiet Sami was.   
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked her, "You're not saying anything."   
  
Sami smiled reassuringly at him and reached out to take his hand, "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just tired. And I was thinking about things."   
  
"Like what?" Lucas questioned her.   
  
"I was thinking about what happened, what I said on the dock." Sami took a deep breath and Lucas felt his stomach tighten with fear. She couldn't actually try and take it all back again. Not after everything they had already been through, "Does it mean that... we're together?"   
  
Lucas sighed with relief, "Is that what you want?" she nodded silently, "Then we are. And I'm glad because it's what I want too."   
  
Sami sighed happily and encircled her arm around his waist, "I still can't believe we wasted so much time fighting and hating each other. I wish we had done things differently because you're one of the only people I feel like I can trust anymore. I don't feel like I need to be afraid of losing you."   
  
"You're right, you don't need to be afraid." Lucas brushed his fingers along the side of her face, "Because now that I know you feel the exact same way I do, I just want the three of us, you, me and Will to have a future. Together."   
  
Sami smiled and stopped walking. She wrapped her arms around Lucas and rested her cheek on his chest. The two of them had walked into a forest and they were surrounded by trees. The lake and cabins were a good distance away. The air held a bitter coldness but neither Lucas or Sami noticed.   
  
"Lucas?" Sami raised her head to meet his eyes, sliding her hands up his chest. Lucas looked at her expectantly, "Since we're probably not going to get much sleep tonight anyway, I have a proposal for what we could do tonight."   
  
Lucas smiled, not even needing her to finish explaining. He already knew what she was thinking, "Yes, I want to, Sami."   
  
Sami smiled back at him for a split second before he claimed her mouth with his. He tangled his fingers in her already tousled blonde hair, pushing his tongue into the cavities of her mouth. Earlier that day, he had told Sami that together, they were perfection. And as he began making love to her under the light of the full moon, he realized that he had been right and that nothing would ever feel as right to him as being with Sami did. 


End file.
